LINKING UP WITH TECHNOLOGY: CLUBS TURNING TO GADGETRY TO UPDATE COURSES

While golf doesn't suffer gadgetry, two high-tech applications at area courses are bringing the game into the 21st century and helping to make it even better.
The first prevents players from driving carts on restricted turf. The other, which uses global positioning system technology, tells players just how far they are from the cup.
'It's like an electronic dog collar and the invisible fence,' said Jerry Musheno, clubhouse manager of Pleasant Valley Country Club, a public golf course in Medina.
Mr. Musheno was talking about the electronic cart control system installed on his fleet of five dozen golf carts. Each is equipped with a transmitter. When the cart drives into an area where it should not be, a kill switch is activated and the cart stops.
'We have signs near the greens that say, 'Keep carts 30 feet from greens,' but some people ignore them and drive as close as they can,' said Mr. Musheno, obviously speaking from experience with the problem.
'The grass is already stressed there -- adding the stress of a cart only makes it more difficult,' he said.
The cart engine shuts down immediately, but the effect isn't permanent. The cart can be restarted, put into reverse and then driven by the somewhat chastened player.
Not only does the system guide the misguided, it saves time for the course maintenance crew. With the 'invisible fence,' crew members no longer need to erect ropes to keep carts away from sensitive areas on the course, Mr. Musheno said.
Technology also is part of the cart fleet at StoneWater Golf Club in Highland Heights. On each of the carts sits a small screen. As players begin their round at the opening tee, a welcome to the course appears.
Nice touch. But the system can do a lot more than that.
'We've used it to keep players current on the Indians when they're in the playoffs, or on the leaders in the major (golf) tournaments,' said pro Craig Immel, director of golf at the upscale public course.
But the computer syst
em does much more, Mr. Immel said. As players make their way around the course, the global positioning system bounces the cart location off orbiting satellites, which then relay to the driver information about how far the cart is from the pin in play. The measurement is accurate to within three feet, Mr. Immel said.
Back at headquarters, course management knows where each cart is and can send messages as needed.
'If there's a group playing especially slow, we can alert not only the slow players to play faster, but we can tell the groups behind them what the problem is and what we've done to correct it,' Mr. Immel said. 'It also allows us to warn players if the weather takes a sudden turn for the worse.'
Of course, neither system would be necessary if we just stayed with caddies. But in the technology-crazy 1990s, that just won't do.
Other applications of technology are popping up all over the golfing landscape.
Several area courses have installed computer-controlled 'fertigation' systems that help courses maintain appropriate levels of fertilizers and irrigation.
And Gleneagles Golf Club in Twinsburg was the first site to test the city's stored-value card initiative. The card, called One Card, initially allowed golfers to dispense practice balls from an automated range ball dispenser, freeing staff members in the clubhouse from performing that mundane and time-consuming chore.
Eventually, the card may be used for pro shop purchases, for cashless vending of concessions and perhaps to allow players to keep score electronically and store it for future reference.